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England 33-12 Ireland: hosts win Women’s Six Nations rugby union opener – live | Women’s Six Nations
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A reminder that France beat Italy 40-7 earlier today.
Wales v Scotland to come.
Here’s the player of the match, England’s skipper, Meg Jones:
There were always going to be nerves after the back of a World Cup. We found ways, that’s what winning teams do. I’m sure we’ll brush up and I’m proud of the girls.
We have huge growth potential. Players have stepped into leadership roles. They will have more of a voice now and own their roles.
I’ll probably head home and doing some washing to keep me grounded. I’ll reflect. Coming out of the tunnel was amazing and singing the anthem was second to none.
Full-time! England 33-12 Ireland
34 wins in a row! Can’t say they don’t deserve that. By far the better team but Ireland will leave with some credit in the bank. This was closer than I thought it would be but nowhere near a close contest. Credit to England and Jones in particular.
80 min: Ireland are running this from inside their own half. Oh, a wonderful line from Dalton meets the perfect pass and she’s through a gap. Kildunne snaffles it as she runs back and recovers the ball. That’ll be that.
79 min: England win a penalty. They kick it out but from the line-out they knock-on. This game is fizzling out as Meg Jones is announced the deserving recipient of the player of the match award.
78 min: Another scrum penalty for England allows Harrison the opportunity to kick it long and far and for a line-out just inside her own half.
77 min: A little knock-on on England’s 22, from Ireland, means that attack comes to an end. It looked promising after a fingertip secured the line-out, but the line speed from the English put the Irish midfield under pressure.
76 min: Momentum is with Ireland now as they win a penalty on the floor. It’s too little, too late of course, but they can take great heart from this second half performance. It’s the first time since 2013 that they’ve scored two tries against England. O’Brien’s kicking has (mostly) been very good. She lands another raking penalty out just short of the 22. One more try perhaps?
TRY! England 33-12 Ireland (King, 74)
On her captaincy debut, King scores! Ireland won’t be denied for long. Amidst the morass of bodies, King spotted some free grass beyond the try line and hit the line hard and carried it over from close range. Lovely stuff. The conversion from under the poles is good.
73rd min: Held up over England’s line! Ireland were efficient off the top of the line-out from the penalty and they inched their way forward. A series of strong carries brought them close. They had the advantage so worth a dart. They couldn’t dot down but will go again.
72 min: It’s been ding-dong in the scrums. Ireland win a penalty. O’Brien, from her own half, pings a touch finder beyond England’s 22. Good nudge that.
70 min: Ireland will have the scrum as the stadium announcer lets us know that this is a record crowd for the Women’s Six Nations. A crowd of 77, 120 in the house.
TRY! England 33-5 Ireland (Kildunne, 67)
England hit back immedaitely! Kildunne brings out the cowboy celebration as she skins her opposite number down in the left corner. It all started with Jones running over a tackler, kicking ahead and then making a tackle as England pinned Ireland down in their own red zone. O’Brien’s return kick didn’t have enough oomph on it and England could attack from the 22. By the time they found Kildunne joining the line and charging down the left, the writing was on the wall. Rowland fails from the tee for the first time.
TRY! England 28-5 Ireland (McGann, 65)
Ireland are on the board! Finally, they land a blow. Off the back of the rolling maul, they come close, but not close enough. They need to go again and McGann showed immense strength to hold off a challenge and stay infield as she dotted down in the right corner. Her smile as she comes up from the ground tells a story. The conversion is missed, but at least Ireland won’t leave London empty handed.
63 min: Penalty now for Ireland. O’Brien hoofs it towards the corner and finds touch. C’mon Ireland! Let’s see what you’ve got from here!
62 min: We’re back with a mighty England scrum that monsters the Irish pack. They win another penalty and though they run the ball with an advantage, they’ll come back with Harrison kicking to touch.
60 min: Hunt is back on her feet and will stay out there. She’s getting some cover on her knee but looks OK.
60 min: Muir is munched in contact just as she passes and spills it. We’ll have an Irish scrum inside England’s half. No, in fact we’ll have an English line-out as the ball didn’t go forward, but in fact came off Hogan’s hand. Doesn’t matter in the end as Hunt is crunched and stays down. She might be in a spot of bother here. Not sure what the decision is. The main bit is that Hunt needs some medical attention.
58 min: That seems to have knocked the stuffing out of Ireland. Once again a promising move comes to nothing as Kabeya pinches it. But they’re back on the ball as Feaunati spills in contact. Wafer runs it back but she’s drilled hard. Dalton now and she is also hammered. They kick ahead after failing to breach the line and Kildunne mops up.
TRY! England 28-0 Ireland (Breach, 54)
Turn of pace! A lightning bolt from the blue! Ireland had it but then the ball was charged down by Jones who then pounced on the bouncing pill before feeding the onrushing Breach. She did brilliantly to ride the challenge Kinlan who almost held the ball up, but Breach managed to roll in the contact and dot down over her head. Brilliant stuff from the flying winger who deserved that. Rowland keeps the score ticking with another conversion.
54 min: Harrison is on the park and is flinging passes. But England lose the ball in contact so Ireland come back at them. Maloney-MacDonald has it. Woah! In a flash, England are back on the ball….
51 min: England replace their props and their halfbacks in time for this Irish scrum five out from the Irish line.
50 min: An unreal steal from Ireland’s Maloney-MacDonald! My word, that is stunning work. It was needed, too. England came within inches of the try line after Kildunne off-loaded for the other Maloney-MacDonald who burst down the left wing. England came flooding forward with Jones and then Matthews hitting the line at pace. But just as the try seemed an inevitability, the Irish hooker stole in and came away with the ball. The passage ends with Ireland winning the scrum feed close to their own line after repelling another English attack, holding up the ball carrier under the shade of their own sticks.
48 min: Cokayne roars like a Viking as England’s front row secures a scrum penalty. England might not be at their best today, but they are stubbornly refusing Ireland a tow-hold in the contest.
46 min: Kildunne drops the ball in the backfield. She’s not having a great game. O’Brien, with a free-kick following the Irish scrum, hoiked a high kick into the sunshine that caused the England full-back some grief. Still, the reigning player of the year should be snaffling that. Ireland with a chance to launch from a scrum in the middle of the park inside England’s patch.
45 min: Lutui’s first carry is meaty and gives her team go-forward. Kildunne runs a lovely line and makes ground. Good continuity from England. Rowland finds Breach who finds Kabeya in the right tram. But Ireland come away with it as England spill it around the ruck. Sloppy from the world champions. A shame. That move was starting to look slick.
44 min: Talling will be stretchered off. She gets a round of applause as she makes way for teenager Luitui, who will make her debut in the second row.
44 min: Poor from Ireland as Hogan strays offside as O’Brien rakes a lovely kick into space in the far right corner. But Hogan wasn’t paying attention and Ireland give away a soft penalty. There’s a delay as Talling has stayed down. She doesn’t look in good touch. England’s troubles in the second row could get worse.
42 min: Parsons is wrapped up by Kildunne near the left touch – as Ireland would see iot. O’Brien kicks across for Hogan. Ireland are keeping the ball and inching forward. Better from them but still around halfway. O’Brien kicks and it’s a little meek as she coughs away possession. England comfortably mop up on their own 22 before they execute a slick exit.
41 min: Aitchison, such a slick player, rakes a good touch finder to get the half under way after Ireland’s restart. The Irish win the line-out and rumble beyond the 10 metre line.
The players are sprinting out for the second half. They can’t wait to get going again. Ireland with all to prove if you’re asking me. Are they the real deal? Let’s find out.
Half-time: England 21-0 Ireland
That brings the half to an end. England utterly dominant. Ireland were decent, but not consistent. One turnover became a spilled ball. A solid scrum morphed into a penalty given away on the floor. England never left third gear though that was more than good enough for a commanding lead. Back in a bit.
40 min: Has Kildunne scored!? It was a brilliant move off the scrum and a wonder off-load after contact by Jones, but has Kildunne spilled the ball? Yes, she has! Oh wow, that was a brilliant recovery tackle from Kinlan who motored back and put in a hit that dislodged the ball just as Kildunne was about to dot down. Fantastic work from the Irish winger but Kildunne really should have scored there.
39 min: Lovely strike move after a well contested scrum sees England canter 40 metres in no time. The ball is flung left for the onrushing Kildunne who then feeds Maloney-Macdonald on the wing. Kildunne has it back and then they go infield. Aitchison kicks long and straight to Kinlan who makes a mess of things, dropping a goober on her own 22. England will have one final chance to add to their tally before halftime.
37 min: Another chance for Ireland to set up a line-out after winning a penalty on the floor, but it’s bad to worse for the women in green. O’Brien goes for the perfect kick but misses, kicking it beyond the try area and she hands possession away. England opt for the scrum just beyond their own 22.
35 min: Ireland win a penalty inside England’s half and O’Brien finds touch just outside the 22. Can they do anything with this? No! Ives Campion rises high and steals the ball. Once again, Ireland fluff their lines. Aitchison clears and finds touch 10 metres down field.
The family of Shaun Burton, say they are “devastated” by the loss.
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Key events
In the opening half an hour against Cape Verde, Mikel Oyarzabal, the centre-forward, did not get a single touch.
Kyle Green gets in touch: “Your highlighting of Lalas and his absurdity is something that has prevented me from wanting to watch the coverage on Fox. While every channel has its pros and cons I just can’t.
“I’m 45 and probably the youngest of anyone who remembers him as a player instead of an opinionated insert insult here. As for the match this could be more competitive than it looks on paper Spain need a win the pressure is on them. Saudi Arabia could hold out for a draw and see what happens in their last match. “
News from the England camp, and it seems to be good news on Declan Rice.
“I’m ready and fit, raring to go. I was feeling a little bit of neural pain in my hamstring, which I was managing from after Christmas with Arsenal for a very long time. Obviously, not a lot of people would have known that. It was all behind-the-scenes stuff but it was a smart decision.
“In the end, that last 20 minutes is probably where you pick up the most, and it’s where you play a 70-minute match. But that last 20 is where you really feel your body going for it. And I think it was a smart decision because the last few days I felt really, really good.”
Alex Reid has penned today’s weekend special Football Daily.
Portugal v Uzbekistan on Tuesday enticingly pits the incredibly nice, incredibly 41-year-old-superstar-tolerant Roberto Martínez against Fabio Cannavaro, who’s won a Ballon d’Or as a player and the Chinese Super League as a coach. While the fixture following that game really does see the dream of Thomas Tuchel – in his first international job with England – taking on Queiroz, who is in charge of his ninth national side with Ghana.
The expected formations are 4-2-3-1 for Spain, and 5-3-2 for the Saudi Arabians.
The Saudi team features two Donis changes: Ali Lajami, a defender, and Nasser Al Dawsari, a midfielder, are preferred to Mohammed Abu Al Shamat and Mohamed Kanno. You may recall Salem Al Dawsari, the Saudi captain, as the man who scored the winner against Argentina.
An entertaining read, even for those of us who have just seen the clips.
In a conversation where his co-panelist is casually reminiscing about his days playing alongside Messi or exchanging shirts with Ronaldo Nazário at the World Cup, what exactly is Lalas going to talk about – coming on as a second-half substitute for Earnie Stewart in a friendly against Scotland in 1998? Helping the Kansas City Wizards finish last in the 1999 MLS Western Conference? Did Lalas enjoy an elite playing career? No. But does he do the background reading that could compensate for his relative lack of standing in a conversation with titans like Henry and Zlatan? Also no. But is he charming or funny or charismatic or otherwise magnetic on screen? Eh, no.
For the record, I once interviewed Alexi Lalas on the challenge of playing against Romario in the 1994 World Cup. He had this to say:
“He could kill you in so many different ways. If you remember from that World Cup, he scored so many types of goals. That ranged from solo adventures to an outside-of-the-right-foot half-volley off a corner kick. Romario was both the most difficult to play against and the best that I have faced.
“Roberto Baggio was doing his thing, but in terms of consistency and living up to the hype, he [Romario] was the best. As with all stars, there was a moment when the fans sit up in their seats, and that was a feeling I got with Romario. When it got close to him and the potential for his involvement in a play was there, everybody sat up in their seat. They knew that something spectacular would be happening.”
Saturday’s match reports here.
The Saudi Arabia coach, and Blackburn legend, Georgios Donis, spoke about the challenges facing his team: “Spain is not the same team when Yamal or Williams are on the bench.
“While they still have plenty of possession, they lack the individual one-on-one penetration when these two are missing. I’m not saying it’s a problem for Spain, but when those players are missing, they play in a different way. We saw this very clearly against Cape Verde.
“We are playing against one of the best teams in the world, and it’s very important that when you play against these kinds of teams, you should enjoy the experience and respect the opponent, but not too much.
“It is very hard for any team playing against Spain to have any time in possession. So what we must do is to be more in control of our movement and compact, and when the ball goes through the lines, be able to defend dynamically.
“It’s nice to see miracles in football, and we’ve seen favourites losing against underdogs. Of course, it’s great for Saudi football to have a great memory of the result against Argentina, but we aren’t drawing anything from that.
“I think we’ll feel more pressure in that [Cape Verde] game than we will against Spain.”
The Spain coach, Luis De La Fuente had this to say in his Saturday press conference: “This generation of footballers is highly competitive and really fired up… It’s going to be a completely different story,” he said at his pre-match press conference on Saturday. There is no drama or crisis. The bottom line is simply that we need to win tomorrow.”
Four changes for Spain: Lamine Yamal, Pedro Porro, Dani Olmo and Alex Baena also come into the side with Marcos Llorente, Fabian Ruiz, Ferran Torres and Gavi dropping out.
The teams – Lamine Yamal starts
Spain: Simon, Porro, Cubarsi, Laporte, Cucurella, Gonzalez, Rodri, Yamal, Olmo, Baena, Oyarzabal. Subs: Raya, Joan Garcia, Pubill, Grimaldo, Eric Garcia, Llorente, Merino, Torres, Fabian, Gavi, Pino, Williams, Zubimendi, Munoz, Iglesias.
Saudi Arabia: Al Owais, Abdulhamid, Tambakti, Lajami, Al Amri, Al Harbi, Nasser Al Dawsari, Al Khaibari, Al Juwayr, Al Buraikan, Salem Al Dawsari. Subs: Al Aqidi, Al Kassar, Majrashi, Yahya, Al Shehri, Al Boushal, Kadesh, Al Johani, Al Ghannam, Al Hajji, Al Hamdan, Mandash, Kanno, Thakri, Abu Al Shamat.
Referee: Raphael Claus (Brazil)
Perhaps one of the Saudi -players can write themselves into this high-grade selection?
Perhaps it can be their goalkeeper.
Madrid screening of Spain v Saudi Arabia cancelled due to heat
The public screening of Spain’s World Cup match against Saudi Arabia in Madrid on Sunday has been cancelled because of extreme heat forecast for the Spanish capital, officials said.
The match, due to kick off at 6pm local time on Sunday, had been scheduled to be shown on a giant screen installed by the Spanish football federation (RFEF) at a fan zone in Plaza de Colón in central Madrid.
Madrid city council and the federation decided to cancel the screening after national weather agency AEMET issued an orange heat warning – the second-highest level – for the Madrid region, with temperatures forecast to reach 40C.
“The decision has been taken with the aim of protecting the health of attendees, event staff and support services involved in the event,” Madrid city hall said in a statement, apologising for any inconvenience.
Officials urged supporters to watch the match indoors in air-conditioned spaces and avoid prolonged exposure to the heat.
Large parts of Spain are experiencing unusually high temperatures for June as a mass of hot air from North Africa moves across the Iberian Peninsula.
A total of 13 of Spain’s 17 regions are on orange alert for heat on Sunday, while the northern Basque Country bordering France is on red alert, the highest level.
Authorities advised residents and visitors to take precautions during the heatwave, including drinking water regularly, staying in cool environments, limiting outdoor physical activity during the hottest hours of the day and taking extra care of vulnerable people. AFP
Can Saudi Arabia repeat the magic of 2022?
Argentina arrived in Qatar on a 36-game unbeaten run. When Lionel Messi opened the scoring from the penalty spot after 10 minutes, a comfortable afternoon seemed in the offing. Saleh al-Shehri and Salem al-Dawsari had other ideas, Argentina had three goals disallowed for offside in the space of 13 minutes and the greatest comeback in Saudi Arabia football history was made. Argentina went on to lift the trophy, while defeats to Poland and Mexico meant the Saudis did not reach the knock-out stage.
Unai Simon over David Raya is a controversial choice for De la Fuentes. The Arsenal keeper could lay claim to being Europe’s best this season.
“Those at the Champions League final had a few more days, so I got there on the Wednesday night,” Raya says. “I arrived a bit before Fabián [Ruiz]. I was saying hello to some of the others in reception when he arrived. I went to say congratulations; that was almost the first thing I did. I couldn’t really talk [to him] after the final; I just didn’t have it in me. The next day we talked about the game properly. Just two mates chatting … I was happy for him that he could lift the trophy for a second time.”
A high pressure game for the European champions, as Sid Lowe reports.
“If we had scored one, the game would have changed,” Martín Zubimendi said. Immediately after the game, De la Fuente had offered a simple analysis: when the ball doesn’t want to go in it doesn’t want to go in, he insisted. Spain had racked up 27 shots, after all. Ferran Torres had hit the bar and seen another clear opportunity saved. Vozinha, the 40-year-old goalkeeper who stopped that, saved six more and was named the man of the match. “There’s nothing to reproach the team for,” Rodri said. “We generated chances but couldn’t put it away; the good thing is they created almost nothing.”
We wait to see what role Lamine Yamal will play today. His coach would surely like to be able to use him.
The worst mistake we could make would be to compare him to anyone. He is the midst of a process. He has exceptional footballing maturity and lives it all with total naturalness. He has great serenity and strength. We have to let him follow his path but those players who have something different are ready for that. They’re geniuses, like Dalí [who] can paint a picture, or Michelangelo. They’re different. What is exceptional to us, isn’t to them. In those extremes, they feel comfortable. Why? Because they are different. What we think is exceptional, they consider normal.
Preamble
Spain’s campaign did not get off to a flying start, and Luis de la Fuentes may wake up in the night to visions of Cape Verde’s Vozinha. He will have Georgia on his mind ever since Monday. Saudi Arabia are no pushovers and gave Uruguay a scare in their opening match. Memories of downing Argentina four years ago still abound, and so Spain might beware. They can ill afford to go into the final game with Uruguay at a disadvantage. All eyes on Lamine Yamal, whose fitness situation remains opaque, though Spain need their other forwards to come to the party.
Kick-off 5pm UK, 1pm ET, 2am AEST. Join me.
A topless man can be seen driving erratically in Edinburgh before abandoning his car and attacking a black man and a delivery rider.
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